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Current approaches to sustainability science and education focus on (assessing and addressing) the external world of ecosystems, wider socio-economic structures, technology and governance dynamics. A major shortcoming of such approaches is the neglect of inner dimensions and capacities (which constrains education for sustainability as an end), and a limited capacity to facilitate reflection on the cognitive and socio-emotional processes underpinning people’s learning, everyday life choices and decision-taking (which constrains education for sustainability as a means). More integral approaches and pedagogies are urgently needed. The purpose of this paper is to advance related knowledge.

This paper provides a reflexive case study of the development of an innovative course on “Sustainability and Inner Transformation” and associated interventions in the form of a practice lab and weekly councils.

The paper elaborates on the connections between sustainability and inner transformation in education, offers insights into the process of adapting contemplative interventions to sustainability education and concludes with some reflections on challenges, lessons learnt and future work needed to support more integral approaches. The findings show that inner dimensions and transformation can be a vehicle for critical, improved education for sustainability and how this can be achieved in practice.

It is only recently that the concept of the inner or personal (sphere of) transformation has received growing attention in sustainability science and education. Despite this interest, such new conceptualizations and heuristics have, to date, not been systematically connected to education for sustainability (neither as an end nor means). The paper presents a critical, reflexive case, which advances related knowledge. It sets a precedent, which other universities/training institutions could follow or learn from.

This chapter critically explores the colonial model of education in a Buddhist society in postcolonial Bangladesh, as the Buddhist value-based contemplative learning and ethical practices have been constantly challenged due to the fact that the western value-based cultural knowledge is considered for economic development. In such a context, Buddhist learners are unable to learn the social history, cultural heritage, Buddhist/social economy, and spiritual values and practices in the educational institutions. Even teachers are not trained in preparing learners for cultivation of wisdom (Paññā in Pāli) and ecocentric development of the community in the country. On the other hand, Buddhist notion of contemplative learning pedagogy believes in decolonization of the mind and reflective practice for social transformation and development of wisdom through deep meditative mind by nurturing critical dialogue as opposed to capital accumulation and greed-based society. The Buddhist pedagogical approach focuses on mindful concentration (bhavana) and ethical (sila) practice within the learning context and environment, as emancipatory ideology to promote cultural diversity instead of political and social imposition. Such mindfulness would allow both the learners and teachers to create collaborative learning opportunities for life-sustaining practice and wholesome (kusala karma) activity in the community setting. The Buddhist learning pedagogy tends to nurture nonviolence (ahimsa) in order to develop mutual respect among the diverse communities to renewing ground for mind-expanding pursuits in the learning institutions for the wellbeing of all community members in the country.

It's a secret hidden in plain sight, we teach who we are. Palmer (2017)

In an effort to reinvigorate the art of teaching, educational theorists have called for teachers to learn how to teach with their “whole self” – to be with and teach their students from a position of mindful awareness, authenticity, truthfulness, compassion, and courage (Palmer, 2017; Ramsey & Fitzgibbons, 2005). The skills that support one in mindfully knowing oneself well and being able to creatively and consciously bring aspects of one's knowledge expertise and identity into acts of teaching and learning in the classroom in an authentic way has been labeled the “unnamed domain” in teacher knowledge (e.g., Taylor, 2016). In this chapter, we extend work on a conceptual, evidence-based framework for this unnamed domain. We propose that the formation of teachers who are calm in body in challenging situations, clear in mind when making decisions in complex classroom environments, and kind in approach to interactions with others is one way of describing development in this domain of teacher identity/expertise. Furthermore, we posit that mindfulness, compassion, and other contemplative practices can be useful for developing expertise in it. We present conceptual and empirical findings from a series of studies we have done on the antecedents and consequences of teachers' calmness, clarity, and kindness in the classroom and discuss directions for future research.

The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesise research evidence and propose a theoretical model suggesting that school-based yoga programs may be an effective way to promote social-emotional learning (SEL) and positive student outcomes.

This paper is a literature review focusing on: the current state of research on school-based yoga interventions; a preliminary theoretical model outlining the potential mechanisms and effects of school-based yoga; similarities, differences and possibilities for integrating school-based SEL, yoga and meditation; practical implications for researching and implementing yoga in schools.

Research suggests that providing yoga within the school curriculum may be an effective way to help students develop self-regulation, mind-body awareness and physical fitness, which may, in turn, foster additional SEL competencies and positive student outcomes such as improved behaviours, mental state, health and performance.

Given that research on school-based yoga is in its infancy, most existing studies are preliminary and are of low to moderate methodological quality. It will be important for future research to employ more rigorous study designs.

It is possible, pending additional high-quality research, that yoga could become a well-accepted component of school curricula. It will be particularly important for future research to examine possibilities around integrating school-based yoga and meditation with SEL programs at the individual, group and school-wide levels.

This paper is the first to describe a theoretical model specifically focused on school-based yoga interventions, as well as a discussion of the similarities and differences between school-based yoga, SEL and meditation.

Americans increasingly feel a sense of wonder at the universe; meditation and yoga are on the rise; and a field known as Contemplative Studies has emerged. These indicators, among others, suggest a groundswell of interest in contemplative practice and contemplative experience and raise intriguing questions for information and Information Studies. Against this backdrop, this paper asks: How might Information Studies contribute to these developments? What is the relationship between information and contemplation? What can be explored on this research frontier?

This conceptual paper is based upon a synthesis of recent writings from the field of Contemplative Studies as well as conceptual analysis of selected papers and themes in Information Studies. It draws from discussion that occurred at a Session for Interaction and Engagement at the 2018 iConference, entitled “Contemplating Information in the Pleasurable and the Profound” (Latham et al., 2018). The authors' creative thinking and personal contemplative practices also infuse and fortify the work.

Popular and academic contemplative movements are afoot, and Information Studies has an opportunity to participate or be left behind. The field of Contemplative Studies has established the foundational concepts that can serve as contextual material for information research into contemplation. Upon closer inspection, Information Studies has already broached the topic of contemplation at various points in its history, theory, institutional practices, and information behavior research. The conceptual points of departure for a research frontier are articulated.

Beyond data, information, and knowledge are deeper and more profound aims, such as wisdom, which is related to contemplation. This paper supplies a rationale, scholarly community, conceptual resources, historical precedents, and guiding questions for bridging information and contemplation.

The paper will concentrate on the Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM) from the point of view of the contemplative social sciences (CSS). It will analyze how the mind is engaged in the construction of concept and what the role is of the consciousness of the mind's work in creating a theory that is based on the analysis of empirical data. We will review the research and analytical methods that could be inspirations for Contemplative Grounded Theory (CGT): constructivist grounded theory, classic grounded theory, transformational grounded theory, sociological introspection, holistic ethnography, mindful inquiry and transformational phenomenology, and contemplative qualitative inquiry.

We can find in many classical books from grounded theory (GT) some seeds of contemplative thinking, and we can reconstruct them (Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Glaser, 1978; Strauss, 1987). We would like to develop the inspirations more and perhaps change the sense of GT after the contemplative turn. We would like to show the possibilities of using CGT in research and also its limitations. Some empirical examples from research and analysis will be given to show how contemplation could be used in GT.

This chapter details the instructional experiences of a group of graduate students, who are emerging Human Systems Intervention practitioners – men and women who self-identify as white and work in organizational, community, and educational leadership settings. I outline a series of learning experiences that supported a group of MA students to uncover white supremacist thinking in their work – their approaches to intervention and their mental models regarding effective organizational or community functioning. Using contemplative practices to dig out oppressive, invisible dimensions of white identity, we examined how our whiteness shaped and warped how we enacted our work in community and organization development. We did this by reflective reading, meditation, contemplative arts, deep listening and storytelling, singing and music, and ceremony. This chapter illustrates how higher education can address a fundamental mental model and world view that influences how social responsibility is envisioned and how issues of social justice can be advanced within graduate professional education through socially responsible teaching and learning strategies and activities.

This chapter brings the ancient dichotomy between vita activa and vita contemplativa – a traditional separation between lay life and religious life – to the realm of different states of mind that form the experience of self in contemporary times. Instead of seeing the above dichotomy necessarily within the secular-religious spectrum, I explore it as two pulls within self and, in particular, within a teacher's life. One pull concerns the gravity of day-to-day that William James described as a habitual, half-awake state, very much shaped by external conditions, such as schooling systems in contemporary times. In this half-awake state, self experiences a lack of agency, and is defined by external expectations and standards. The other pull is the elevation toward what Viktor Frankl called meaning and Paul Tillich viewed as ultimate concerns. This pull need not necessarily be conceptualized as religious. It can be secular and/or grounded in agnosticism and merely reflect a sincere wish to lead an agentic, authentic, and meaningful life. This pull can appear in the most prosaic situations within a teacher's life, calling her/him to resist the gravity of half-asleep functioning and survival. Self is, essentially, a site of struggle and reconciliation between these two pulls, experienced as fluctuating states of the embodied mind. This chapter comprises mostly of an existential-phenomenological description of “what it is like to be a self” in the world, exemplified in the case of being a teacher in contemporary times. After describing the two pulls, I will make some suggestions as to the need for teacher education that explicitly caters to the contemplative self through contemplative practices.